This Sunday, September 25, 2022, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Motegi circuit at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The French driver, who started from 9th place on the grid, did not find the speed he had shown on Friday in the dry but nevertheless benefited from the misfortunes of his main adversaries in the championship...
As usual, we report here the words of fabio quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement for English, tutoiement for French).
Do you think you are doing well?
fabio quartararo : " Given the circumstances and what happened, of course, I would say it's better to take 8 points than to lose 8 points. It's good on one hand, but frustrating on the other, because I feel that our potential was definitely not to fight with Jack since he was another level today, but to fight with Marc and Miguel (wasn't impossible). I can't overtake at all. I'm behind and we drive in a completely different way to the other drivers. I'm making up a lot in sectors two and three and losing a lot in sectors four and one, so it's frustrating because I could be going faster, but no. We made a few mistakes so we changed one thing before the race. It wasn't the tire but it was something that made our pace a little slower. »
Did you have a problem with the front tire pressure?
« No ! No no no. We are learning well how to manage front tire pressure and this time it wasn't about front tire pressure. I was braking hard and we changed something before the race thinking it wouldn't affect us much but it actually affected us quite a bit in a bad way. It was a small mistake on our side and I also think we didn't make the right choice of tire. But in the end, with so little dry time on the track, we only tried the soft rear tire and the medium: We didn't try the hard and that was a mistake. »
How do you learn to manage the front tire?
« Well, not just me but the team as well. The starting pressure varies and depends on the position from which we start, and in the end we learn because when we start at the front, it is operating pressure, but when we are behind many riders, the pressure increases. But for this race, it was really good. We left with less pressure than when we start from the front line. »
Did you see Pecco coming towards you?
« I didn't see him but I heard him fall, so I think he didn't fall very far from me (laughs). So, of course, I saw it. I think the way he drives is very fast and I also think the hard rear tire was the right choice. They did a good job: the few drivers who chose this tire did a good job with it. Of course I knew he was coming back but I was stuck behind Maverick, even though he had good pace, and I couldn't overtake him. That was the difficult part.
»
Many people say that it is a circuit which offers few overtaking possibilities. Is this the biggest problem with this circuit?
« Yes. In particular, the rear tire deteriorates a little but with the new tire which deteriorates much less, in the end each rider can lift the bike at the exit of turn #6 and overtake at turn #7: But I didn't see any overtaking at turn #7! And I was behind everyone in the race. It's strange to see that this is a typical turn for overtaking, but actually no. I was behind Maverick the whole race and I couldn't make the slightest overtake. Not even an attempt. That was something that was very sad for us. Not a fun ride (laughs). »
When Pecco is behind and comes back, do you brake again later? Are you relaxing a little?
« No, no, I'm not letting up. I brake, I brake but I don't turn. I think if he had braked earlier he could have passed me inside, but I braked, braked, braked. Even I was really on the verge of falling and he braked later than me. So if I was already at the limit, he was even more, because he really braked late too. »
Risking so much for one point, do you think it's a big mistake?
« I don't know what he risked about him, but in any case he risked a little more. »
At the start of the weekend you said that fewer tests could benefit you, but ultimately it turned against you...
« (Laughter). »
You say you didn't try the hard tire and that was a mistake...
« Ultimately yes, but we didn't think it was going to be this way. The last time, in 2019, we raced with the software. There, with the new carcass which lasts longer, we said that we could do the race with the soft but that we were going to do it with the medium: The only hesitation we had was to go with the soft at the back. We hadn't considered the hard at all, and unfortunately it was the tire to choose. »
Up front, was it good?
« Yes ! In any case, I was at the limit in the morning on the hard front. I don't know why we're always at the limit with the front tire. This morning I saw drivers with soft tires while I am already at the limit with a hard tire. »
Do you have to compensate for braking?
« Yes yes. I hope I can find the limit super early, but the problem is that after a while there is a limit on the front tire: The tire moves and you can't brake much later. The problem is there »
Have you ever tried to overtake Maverick Viñales?
« I didn't try to overtake. Once, in turn 11, I was 10 meters from him and I said to myself "I'll try" but after a while I can't brake harder than I do. The tire is deforming straight and I no longer have a solution. »
Is it important to stop the bleeding of points since Assen?
« Yes, mentally it's good and that's what I often say: When you're far away in the championship, that's one thing, but when you're close, I think the mentality is different. You don't drive the same way when you're really close to first as when you're not. I think being 80 points behind first is a different feeling because you really have nothing left to lose, whereas when you are 10 points away it starts to be a little bit tighter. »
There, are you speaking for Pecco?
« Not just Pecco, but in general. »
For you too?
« I always gave my best. There, I did my best, even if it was only eighth place. An eighth place at the start of the season in a race like that would have been horrible, but in the 16th Grand Prix where we gained eight points on our opponents, it's not a race that made me dream and it's even one of the races where I'm not at all amused, but it's still 8 points taken. »
Do you think his mistake could make him doubt a little?
« Maybe not doubt, but in any case we went from 10 to 18 points, and it's better to go from 10 to 18 points than from 10 to 2 (laughs). »
Thailand with the current tires, how do you feel?
« I felt that one too and we didn't do anything extraordinary, so I hope I feel bad and that we manage to do something good (laughs). Thailand is a very tight circuit, so I hope I can have a good race there. »
MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix results:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
